Jennifer Brown/The Star-LedgerEdariel "Riddick" Melendez is an Elizabeth man who was 19 years old when he shot middle schooler Elijah Henderson to death in 2007.

ELIZABETH — Jacqueline Purdie began to sob loudly into her hands as the guilty verdict was announced Tuesday in Superior Court in Elizabeth.

Edariel Melendez, the man accused of gunning down her 13-year-old son more than two years ago, was convicted on all charges, confirming her long-held beliefs.

"I knew in my heart that he did it," she said, nodding her head slowly. "There was too much evidence. Everything pointed to him."

Except for Purdie’s sobs, the packed Elizabeth courtroom was hushed as the verdict was read against Melendez, a 22-year-old Crips gang member accused of killing two people in November 2007, one of whom was eighth-grader Elijah Henderson.

Rows of armed sheriff’s officers stood watchfully in the aisles. Security was tightened after the tense, three-week trial culminated Thursday in a heated verbal exchange between the defendant’s girlfriend and Elijah’s mother.

As the word "guilty" was recited for each and every count, Melendez, dressed in a dark suit at the defense table, revealed no expression. He was convicted of murder, conspiracy, and weapons offenses in both homicides, and faces 30 years to life in prison when sentenced on August 27.

Melendez and a fellow gang member fatally shot the middle school boy on his bicycle and another innocent victim, 54-year-old Celso Pedra, days later because they mistook them for members of the rival Bloods gang, according to Assistant Prosecutor Bruce Holmes.

The second man charged in the killings, Bryant "Smoke" Lee, will be tried separately.

While Melendez maintains he is innocent of the homicides, he admitted to police on video that he belongs to the Crips gang. He goes by the nickname "Riddicc" — tattooed in black across his forearm and spelled with a "cc" instead of a "ck."

That’s because "ck" signifies "Crip killer," a slur often used by the Bloods, a gang expert testified.

The two homicides were intended as retaliation for the earlier killing of Rahshad Thomas, a member of the Crips known as "Twin," according to Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow.

"Innocent people died because of Melendez," Romankow said Tuesday. "Now, he’ll be going to a place where he won’t be a danger to the public anymore."

As he was led away in handcuffs, Melendez nodded at more than a dozen supporters in the court’s gallery. His mother, Aracelis Melendez, showed no outward emotion and told her son to "be strong." She later declined comment on the verdict.

Cassandra Graham, who is Melendez’s girlfriend and the mother of his child, was restrained by several companions as she cried in the hallway. They ordered her to say nothing about the verdict and escorted her into the elevator.

Defense attorney Fredric Pearson said he was "very disappointed" with the verdict, and will meet with his client soon to discuss possible motions or appeals.

"I do not think he’s guilty," Pearson said of Melendez. "The evidence was virtually all circumstantial."

Elijah’s mother said she felt only relief, and planned to take the rest of the day off from her job as a security guard to celebrate with family and her two other children.

"I’m satisfied, I can move on," she said. "My son is never going to be forgotten."